Don't Believe Everything You Think

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Don't Believe Everything You Think
Book


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Description

It can be hard for those of us living in the twenty-first century to see how fourteenth-century Buddhist teachings still apply. When you’re trying to figure out which cell phone plan to buy or brooding about something someone wrote about you on Facebook, lines like “While the enemy of your own anger is unsubdued, though you conquer external foes, they will only increase” can seem a little obscure.

Thubten Chodron’s illuminating explication of Togmay Zangpo’s revered text, The Thirty-seven Practices of Bodhisattvas, doesn’t just explain its profound meaning; in dozens of passages she lets her students and colleagues share first-person stories of the ways that its teachings have changed their lives. Some bear witness to dramatic transformations—making friends with an enemy prisoner-of-war, finding peace after the murder of a loved one—while others tell of smaller lessons, like waiting for something to happen or coping with a minor injury. (Source: Shambhala Publications)

Citation
Chodron, Thubten. Don't Believe Everything You Think: Living with Wisdom and Compassion. Boston: Snow Lion, 2012.


Translation of

 
Rgyal sras lag len so bdun ma
Gyalse Tokme Zangpo's (1295 - 1369) highly influential work on Mind Training (blo sbyong) that outlines the training of a bodhisattva in a series of thirty-seven verses is still very popular today with Buddhist practitioners around the world. The colophon states: "This was composed at the Jewel Cave of Ngulchu by the monk Tokme [Zangpo], expounder of scripture and reasoning, for the benefit of myself and others." Since he gathered together all the paths of the bodhisattvas and composed them in the form of thirty-seven verses, the title is clearly fitting.
Text

Teaching on

 
Rgyal sras lag len so bdun ma
Gyalse Tokme Zangpo's (1295 - 1369) highly influential work on Mind Training (blo sbyong) that outlines the training of a bodhisattva in a series of thirty-seven verses is still very popular today with Buddhist practitioners around the world. The colophon states: "This was composed at the Jewel Cave of Ngulchu by the monk Tokme [Zangpo], expounder of scripture and reasoning, for the benefit of myself and others." Since he gathered together all the paths of the bodhisattvas and composed them in the form of thirty-seven verses, the title is clearly fitting.
Text

  • Appreciationix
  • Introduction: Don't Believe Everything You Think1
    • 1. Helpful Background7
    • 2. Starting Out on the Path17
      • Paying Homage17
      • Verse 1: Precious Human Life and How to Use It Wisely18
      • Verse 2: The Poisons of Attachment, Anger, and Ignorance27
      • Verse 3: Calming the Mind, Simplifying Our Lives35
    • 3. Transitioning43
      • Verse 4: Looking at Death and Dealing with Loss43
      • Verse 5: Bad Friends and Why We Don't Need Them51
      • Verse 6: Relying on a Spiritual Friend55
      • Verse 7: Turning to the Buddhist Path for Spiritual Guidance61
    • 4. The Next Step67
      • Verse 8: Watch What You're Doing: Your Actions Have Results67
      • Verse 9: Aspiring for Freedom: Why Worldly Pleasures Won't Cut It71
    • 5. Cultivating Love, Compassion, and Altruism77
      • Verse 10: The Kindness of Others and Wanting to Repay it77
      • Verse 11: Shifting from the Self-Centered Thought to Cherishing Others82
    • 6. Transforming Distressing Events91
      • Verse 12: Living with Loss91
      • Verse 13: Transforming Suffering95
      • Verse 14: Facing Blame101
      • Verse 15: Working with Criticism105
    • 7. Dealing with Difficulties111
      • Verse 16: Betrayal111
      • Verse 17: Squashing Our Ego117
      • Verse 18: Ending the Pity Party120
      • Verse 19: Don't Let Success Go to Your Head126
    • 8. The Hated and the Desired133
      • Verse 20: Working with Anger133
      • Verse 21: The Misery of Attachment140
    • 9. The True Nature147
      • Verse 22: Who Am I?147
      • Verse 23: Chasing Rainbows151
      • Verse 24: Sufferings Is Like a Dream154
    • 10. Practices to Last a Lifetime161
      • Verse 25: Opening Our Heart161
      • Verse 26: Stopping the Harm169
      • Verse 27: Having a Steady Mind175
      • Verse 28: Joyous Effort180
      • Verse 29: Meditation183
      • Verse 30: Far-Reaching Wisdom186
    • 11. Joyfully Staying on the Path191
      • Verse 31: Facing Our Faults191
      • Verse 32: The Internal Judge and Jury196
      • Verse 33: Reputation and Reward200
      • Verse 34: Zipping Our Lips203
      • Verse 35: Banishing Bad Habits210
      • Verse 36: Mindfulness214
      • Verse 37: Dedication the Goodness217
    • Epilogue: Putting it into Practice221
    • Appendix I: Root Text: The Thirty-seven Practices of Bodhisattvas225
    • Appendix II: Outline of The Thirty-seven Practices of Bodhisattvas233
    • Glossary237
    • Further Reading243